The Rich Young Man

^16 (A)And behold, a man came up to him, saying, “Teacher, what good deed must I do to ^(B)have ^(C)eternal life?” ¹⁷ And he said to him, “Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. ^(D)If you would enter life, keep the commandments.” ¹⁸ He said to him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, ^(E)“You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, ¹⁹ Honor your father and mother, and, ^(F)You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” ²⁰ The young man said to him, ^(G)“All these I have kept. What do I still lack?” ²¹ Jesus said to him, “If you would be ^(H)perfect, go, ^(I)sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have ^(J)treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” ^22 (K)When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

²³ And Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly, I say to you, ^(L)only with difficulty will a rich person enter the kingdom of heaven. ^24 (M)Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter ^(N)the kingdom of God.” ²⁵ When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved?” ²⁶ But Jesus ^(O)looked at them and said, ^(P)“With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

^12 (A)lest, when you have eaten and are full and have built good houses and live in them, ¹³ and when your herds and flocks multiply and your silver and gold is multiplied and all that you have is multiplied, ^14 (B)then your heart be lifted up, and you ^(C)forget the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery,

¹⁷ Beware ^(A)lest you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth.’

⁹ But ^(A)those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, ^(B)into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that ^(C)plunge people into ruin and destruction. ¹⁰ For the love of money is a root of ^(D)all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.

¹² I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and ^(A)hunger, abundance and ^(B)need.